John 18:7-11 "Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. (8) Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: (9) That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. (10) Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. (11) Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?"
A lot is said and done in these few moments while
being confronted by the Roman soldiers. Let us go back into the upper
room for a moment. We hear the disciples saying as they were leaving the room,
"Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is
enough." (Luke 22:38) Do you think Jesus was concerned as to how
many weapons the men were carrying with them? He knew what would happen.
He knew why He came to this very moment in time. He knew the swords would not
be necessary; yet He said, "It is enough." As I think about
these things, it appears to me that Jesus was allowing the swords to be taken
for the men to have some sort of momentary sense of courage. They would not be
necessary; but, He allowed them to carry their swords. We sometimes feel
if we have the proper protection that we will be okay no matter what comes our
way. The truth of the matter is found in understanding the Lord is my defence.
He is my sword and my shield. He is my strength. I will trust Him.
The Roman soldiers have arrived. Peter remembers he
has one of the swords. He had already said, "I will go to prison. I will
die with you, if necessary." Peter drew the sword, realizing the
consequences that could come his way. He slashed with the sword and cut off the
ear of the high priest's servant. To me, that seems it would have carried at
least a prison sentence, if not a death sentence for this attack. At this
point, whether it was determination or adrenaline, Peter was ready to follow
through with his words to Jesus. What did Jesus do? Luke, the physician,
tells us Jesus "touched his ear, and healed him." (Luke 22:51)
It is apparent this act of compassion from Jesus turned any anger away
from Peter; yet, I wonder how all those who came to get Jesus missed this
action. Why did they not put two and two together to realize this is truly the
Messiah? His voice was so powerful, they fell to the ground. He
reattached this severed ear. Only the Messiah could have done something
like that; yet, they bound Him and took him to the high priest.
In the face of the soldiers, Jesus said, "Let
these go their way." He stood as a shield between the adversary and
His disciples. "Take me. Let them go." John is very specific in
telling us why Jesus spoke these words: "that the saying might be
fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none."
When did Jesus say this? It wasn't that long ago from this particular
point in time. Remember? "While I was with them in the world, I kept
them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is
lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."
(John 17:12) I'm going to say this and if you need to do so, you can
draw your own conclusion. Why would the words of Jesus' intercessory
prayer be applied in a timely manner in one case and an eternal manner in
another? Why, when thinking of John 17:12 by itself, would we place it
in an eternal sense of keeping those who were with Him, when John (inspired by
the Holy Spirit) tells us the words were intended for the safety of the twelve
who walked with Him for those three and a half years? Out of the twelve,
eleven were kept safe and one was no longer with them. Why was that one no
longer with them? According to Jesus in John 17:12, "that the
scripture might be fulfilled." Do not get me wrong, I believe in
the eternal security of the redeemed of God. But we must not take scripture out
of its setting to try to prove our point.
There were many things that occurred during the life
of Jesus; but they all were bringing Him to this very moment of time when He
would be accused and condemned by sinners. He came for this moment that
He would lay down His life for His people. "She shall bring forth a son
and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their
sins." (Matthew 1:21) The next three days would show the true glory
of Jesus the Christ. He came to drink this bitter cup that He would redeem us
from our sins. I praise His Holy Name!